Tour Leader’s Blog

The world famous Oberammergau Passion Play takes place next year. TourMagination has been planning our 15 tours to the passion play for the past 3 years.

Georg Glas as Pontius Pilate

Our colleague Georg Glas will be our special guest in North America in April. Georg is the owner of Hotel Turmwirt in Oberammergau. This is the hotel where all of our groups will stay in 2010.

Georg will join TourMagination at promotional events in Ontario and Penna. in April. Watch for announcements and plan to attend and meet Georg. He has been an actor in the play every season, having played Pontius Pilate in 1980.

Registration is strong for our Passion Play tours. Contact us today to register for your tour of choice.

~ Wilmer Martin

TourMagination arranged a wonderful day for us. Upon arriving in Jamaica our driver-guide Audley picked our group up with his two buses. He had Eli drive his second bus.

Our first stop was at Lloyd’s Ceramics where we enjoyed looking at his products and had the privilege of taking genuine art home. We stopped at Palm Ridge to take photos and remember the days it was operated by Milo Shantz. Today it is operated by the Jamaica Mennonite Church.

At the Calvary Mennonite Church we enjoyed the warm welcome extended to us. During our time of worship the rain came down hard but by the end of the service the sun was again shining.

We visited the first Habitat for Humanity home in St Mary’s Parish. LeRoy Troyer designed this home at the invitation of Habitat for Humanity Canada. The home was built for Shirley. We admired the home with its beautiful front porch. The home is 11 years old and three generations live there.

Our noon meal, a delicious Jamaican buffet, was at the lovely Almond Tree Restaurant overlooking the Caribbean Sea. After shopping we returned to the ship.

Wilmer and Janet said they wanted us to see, smell, touch and taste Jamaica. This we did and Audley’s commentary helped us to understand why Wilmer loves Jamaica so much.

~ Wilmer Martin

What an exciting day for our group. The weather was perfect for our 9 hour journey through the Panama Canal which began around 6am. George Burmeister had already finished his breakfast and was already out on deck taking pictures at 6 am.

Laverne and Ruth invited Joyce and Rhonda to watch from their balcony stateroom.
Cal and Marlene were amazed how quickly the ship raised and lowered as we journeyed through the three locks. From their balcony they could watch the gates opening and closing.
Our ship only had approximately 2 ft. on each side as we passed through the locks, but with 8 electric mules attached on both sides the ship passed each lock without a problem. We were impressed with the volume of traffic but were able to stay on schedule. We were told our fare to pass through had been paid 4 days prior and cost app. $ 210,000 US.

Our group had a good orientation the day before at the lecture in the theater. While passing through the canal interesting facts and information were shared by the Princess staff.
We were told to watch for interesting birds, monkeys, and alligators. Wilmer saw a large alligator in the Gatun Lake.

After clearing the canal we had a port of call at Port Christobal and a late dinner with many observations of our day to share.

~ Wilmer Martin

Yesterday our port of call was Nicaragua. Some of our group visited the mud flats which were bubbling with steam and hot gasses from deep in the earth. Leroy Troyer was pleased to see art work for sale in the markets under the Pro Arta label. Pro Arta was a program under MEDA a decade ago to help families market the products.

Today we were all impressed with the contrast we saw when we toured in Costa Rica. The housing and transportation infrastructure is so much stronger. The tour leaders interpreted the country’s growth and change over the last 60 years. Dennis Landis was impressed that the Army was abolished 60 years ago. Education for the children is a high priority. Their President has received the Nobel Peace Prize for the change his government has fostered at home and in neighbouring countries.

We are now sailing to Panama and look forward to a relaxing sailing day tomorrow.

~ Wilmer Martin

Today was a very interesting day as our port of call was Guatemala. For some of us it was a first time visit. It was very meaningful for me as my father, Omar Martin, as President of the mission board of our conference in Pennsylvania helped start the mission program here in 1964.

Today the Mennonite Church has over 10,500 members with over 114 congregations.
Cal Beachy, along with Ernie and Helen Metzger, visited a coffee plantation. As a mother Helen was touched by the way the mothers pick the coffee beans with their toddlers on their backs. The children need to assist in picking the higher beans.

Bill Stout was one of 12 persons who toured the old historic city of Antiqua. He was impressed with all the rich history and the strong Spanish influence, as well as the Roman Catholic Church’s presence.

Lola Schmidt and Evelyn Quiring enjoyed seeing two of the active volcanoes lifting smoke from the mountain.

We all enjoyed the beautiful children who were assisting their parents in making and selling crafts. Glen Buschart enjoyed one particular boy. Anne Reimer was touched by their presence and has goods with her to show it.

We are enjoying the warmth and smooth sailing.
~ Wilmer Martin